The present invention is related to an optical device for projection display system, particularly for a LCD projector.
Optical device for projection display system are known in the art. Japanese patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-224636 describes a system comprising a LCD matrix. The display image from the LCD matrix is transmitted through a beam-splitter mirror and a projection lens and then projected on a screen. On the other hand, a luminescent spot is generated from a light pointer and the luminescent spot is reflected on the screen. Light of the display image and the luminescent spot on the screen travels through the projection lens. Then, only the luminescent spot is reflected on the beam-splitter mirror and the reflected luminescent spot reaches a sensor means through a return image lens and an image reduction lens. The sensor means detects the position of the luminescent spot relative to the display image, and transmits the resultant information to a computer. The luminescent spot is implemented by Infra-Red light, while the beam-splitter mirror is implemented by a dichroic mirror. The beam-splitter mirror is capable of projecting on the screen visible light constituting the display image of the LCD matrix and selectively reflecting only the luminescent spot constituted by the Infra-Red light, thereby allowing the luminescent spot to be guided to a return image lens.
Such a system provides problems. For example, the beam-splitter mirror is arranged in the projection optical path, a deterioration of the display image may occur due to reflection and scattering. Furthermore the luminescent spot is implemented by an Infra-Red and then invisible light. Therefore, in order to allow an operator to be able to review a position designated by the light pointer on the screen, the light pointer is required to emit an outgoing light including both visible and invisible light. On the other hand, even when both visible and Infra-Red light are used, the luminescent spot is not clearly identified on the screen. Such unclear identification of the spot on the screen is due to a poor luminescent spot light intensity compared to a background brightness outgoing from the LCD matrix. The unclear identification of the spot is also resulting from a too high speed of movement and a small size of the luminescent spot.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved optical device for projection display system capable of clearly identifying a luminescent spot on a screen.
We have now found that replacing a dichroic mirror by a holographic mirror optically processed at a particular wavelength, allows for a better transmission of the visible light and is better adapted to extract light from a selected wavelength without compromising a display image out-coming from a display image forming means. Moreover with an holographic mirror there is no need for an Infra-Red laser pointer.
The present invention provides an optical device for projection display system comprising:
a display image forming means for forming a display image to be projected on a screen,
a luminescent spot projector for forming a luminescent spot on the screen,
a luminescent spot extracting means for extracting light from the luminescent spot out of a reflected light from the screen,
a luminescent spot detecting means for detecting a reflected luminescent spot upon receiving the light from the luminescent spot extracting means,
a luminescent control means responsive to a detection signal representing the luminescent spot detected by the luminescent spot detecting means, for controlling a display image forming operation of the display image forming means based on the detection signal characterised in that the luminescent spot extracting means is an holographic mirror optically processed at, at least one wavelength of the luminescent spot projector.
In the present invention, the display image from the display image forming means is emitted through an image focussing means and projected on the screen. The light emitted from the luminescent spot projector forms a luminescent spot on the screen. A reflected and scattered light from the display image and the luminescent spot projected on the screen is incident on the holographic mirror arranged between the screen and the display image forming means. The holographic mirror extracts light from the luminescent spot out of the incident light and transmit it to a luminescent spot detecting means. Then, the display control means receives a signal representing the spot detected by the luminescent spot detecting means and controls the display image forming operation of the display image forming means.
That is according to the invention, the holographic mirror is arranged to have a role of concurrently transmitting the display image on the screen and a role of extracting the luminescent spot from the reflected light on the screen.
An advantage of the holographic mirror is its capacity to reflect light from the luminescent spot without compromising the display image out-coming from the display image forming means. Such capacity is due to a very high wavelength selectivity of the holographic mirror that plays a role of filtering a very specific and narrow band of frequency from the incident light.
Preferably the display image forming means is a LCD projector and the luminescent spot projector is a laser pointer.
The laser pointer may have a wavelength in visible or Infra-Red range. Most preferably the laser pointer has a wavelength in the visible range. The most preferred laser pointer has a wavelength between 640 and 670 nm.
In an optical device according to the invention, the luminescent spot detecting means comprises a detector such as a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) or a Position Sensitive Device (PSD) but preferably comprises a Position Sensitive Device (PSD). The luminescent spot detecting means may also comprise a focusing means for focusing on the detector, light out-coming from the holographic mirror.
The luminescent control means responsive to a detection signal from the luminescent spot detecting means is controlling the display image operation of the display image forming means. Such display control means is preferably a data processor with, for example, a computer code to execute specific commands such as underlining the luminescent spot or for a remote control of designated software commands. The remote control may be for example to go to next page, to go to previous page, to blacken the screen, to underline options i.e. size, colour shape, persistence of vision delay.
The holographic mirror is preferably made of a coating applied on an optically transparent substrate. The optically transparent substrate may be glass or any optically transparent plastic material. The coating is most preferably a dichromated gelatine or a photopolymer. The gelatine or the photopolymer have a thickness on the substrate that may vary between 5 to 100 micron, preferably between 30 to 60 micron.
The photopolymer coated on a substrate is commercially available whereas the gelatine is prepared according to a process described in Applied Optics 7,2101(1968).
In an optical device according to the invention, the wavelength selectivity of the holographic mirror is resulting from an optical pre-treatment of the coating applied on a substrate. Such optical pre-treatment comprises two steps: a first step, called geometry determination of the mirror and a second step called holographic recording. In such recording, the coating having n as refractive index and which is sensitive in a wavelength range is irradiated with a laser light such as a Ar laser light and recorded by interference between two coherent laser beams. An interference angle, also called recording angle between both laser beams determines the wavelength of a reflection peak, the wavelength selectivity of the holographic mirror.
The geometry determination and the holographic recording are guided by the following equation:
2 nT cos(alpha)=lambdaxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
where
n is the refractive index of the coating,
T represents a fringe spacing or a Bragg plane spacing and determines a geometry of the mirror,
alpha represents the recording or reading angle with respect to the normal inside the coating of refractive index n and
lambda represents a recording wavelength.
In the first step, the geometry of the mirror is calculated from a reading angle configuration, applying equation (1) above. Such geometry will be necessary to obtain a holographic mirror with a wavelength selectivity at lambda.
For example, for a coating with n=1.5, for alpha equal 14.78 degree inside the coating or 22.5 degree in the air and at lambda=650 nm, the required Bragg plane spacing, T, is 224.1 nm.
That means that a holographic mirror made of a coating with n=1.5 will be efficiently reflecting light at 650 nm under an incident angle of 22.5 degree in the air, if the Bragg plane spacing of the mirror is 224.1 nm.
In the second step the holographic recording is determined with a laser light such as an Ar laser light. With an Ar laser light, lambda equals 514.5 nm. If the coating has n=1.5 and T=224.1 nm, the recording angle will be 40.1 degree inside the coating.
If the wavelength selectivity of the mirror need to be tuned at 660 nm instead of 650 nm, the reading angle alpha will be 11 degree inside the coating and 16.6 degree in the air.
When the holographic mirror has been recorded by interference to be tune to at least one particular wavelength, it may be submitted to UV exposure to cure the coating. The holographic mirror is then fixed on a support and further arranged in the optical device between the display image forming means and the screen.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the holographic mirror is mount on a support provided to rotate to generate various angle of incidence with the reflected and scattered light from the screen. Each angle of incidence corresponds to a specific wavelength of a luminescent spot projector. In such embodiment, one holographic mirror can advantageously be used for different luminescent spot projectors having a different wavelength.
According to another preferred embodiment, the holographic mirror is mounted on a filter wheel together with additional holographic mirrors of different wavelength selectivity. In such a preferred embodiment, the filter wheel may be rotated, in order to select the holographic mirror having the wavelength selectivity in accordance with a wavelength emission of a laser pointer. Each mirror is tuned to reflect light in a small wavelength range. For example, if the filter wheel comprised 4 holographic mirrors, the first mirror may reflect from 640 nm to 648 nm, the second mirror from 646 to 654 nm, the third from 652 to 660 nm and the fourth from 658 to 666 nm.
Advantageously, any commercial and cheap laser pointer may be used in an optical device of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for preparing a holographic mirror for an optical device for projection display system characterised in that the holographic mirror is tuned to reflect light in a wavelength range corresponding to at least one wavelength of a luminescent spot projector.
The process comprises two steps as defined above, the first step to determine the geometry of the mirror and a second step to record the holographic mirror at, at least one particular wavelength. The process may also include a step of curing the coating by conventional methods such as UV exposure.
In order that the invention may become clearer, there now follows a detailed description to be read with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the illustrative device has been selected for description to illustrate the invention by way of examples and not by way of limitation thereof.